Customer Reviews

Renaissance the Masters Series 7

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Dave's superb last mix, This is Audio Therapy, was a great mix of dark progressive house and breakbeat, and this is one is very different. As most of the progressive house world has infused some sort of Electro into their mixes these days, Dave is no exception, offering a great blend of light and funky progressive house sounds, with some buzzing and catchy new electro tracks.

While I enjoyed this being a double disc mix, I think it would have bee benefited from beng tightened up to a single disc mix. Disc 1 is definitely the standout, with the exception of the Thievery Coporation track with David Byrne on vocals. Don't get me wrong, the guy is an icon of alternative pop, but his voice is not suited for dance music. My only other comment is that while the John Dahlback remix of Luke Dzierzek's Echo is a very good track in it's own right, the original is the BEST Electro track I have ever heard. As of this writing, I have not found the original on anyone's released CD mix, so he could have been the first, but he chose to use an inferior remix. Don't get fooled by the word inferior, because like I said, the Dahlback remix is good, but compared to the original, it doesn't even compare.

Dave writes in the liner notes that the first CD was to chill at home to, and the 2nd was more geared to a dance floor, but I found more energy on disc 1. It ends with Dave's incredible 9 minute+ remix of Gabriel & Dresden's Tracking Treasure Down. This is puts the cap on an awesome disc 1.

Disc 2 starts off great, with tracks 1-4, and you get a remix by Dzeirzek, and a track of his own. Then for nearly the entire middle tracks of this mix, you get some really boring and standard progressive house tracks. There is nothing exciting here, and I've tried to let this mix play a few times, but repeatedly kept hitting the skip track button. I really didn't stop until the last few tracks, and by that time, it really became apparent that this mix isn't up to par.

I would still highly recommend this one, based on the strength of disc 1 alone. You get a few good tracks on disc 2, but not nearly enough as one would like. With Dave's first real foray into incoporating electro into his mixes, you can't expect it to be perfect, but what we have is still a very good listen.

After hearing this CD, I had to drop a review for those of you considering making the purchase. If you are like me, you may be reluctant to pick-up anything from a progressive house DJ these days as most of what is out there is boring electro house nonsense that plods along, and along, and - you get the picture. Fear not, if this compilation is a sign of things to come in 2006, then we may be in for a real renaissance (pardon the pun).

CD 1 - The overall feel of this mix is that of a classy warm-up set of house. It starts with a soothing Sasha remix, builds to an amazing mix of a Thievery Corporation track, and then culminates with Dave's own remix of the popular Gabriel & Dresden trance track "Tracking Treasure Down." I have read reviews of this compilation on various sites throughout the Web and most people feel this track is cheese and ruins the mix. I could not disagree more. In fact, I actually got goosebumps the first time I heard it. Believe me it is an awesome ending to a memorable set.

CD 2 - The overall feel of this mix is that of a set at a festival such as Ultra or Global Gathering. I had a chance to attend both events during Miami's WMC this year and the big name house DJs (Erick Morillo, Sasha & Digweed, Hernan Cattaneo, etc.) were dropping really pumping progressive house records with touches of acid and electro. Overall, this is the most dancefloor oriented and fun mix I have ever heard Dave Seamen lay down on a commercial release. By the way, track four is so intense that it would literally destroy a dancefloor. Sick Sick stuff...

Definitely pick this one up. It is worth the cash. However, save some money because I have a feeling Hernan Cattaneo's new Renaissance compilation set to drop the end of April may trump this one. It's looking like a good year for house heads :)

This album is better than I expected. It's got good tracks from Thievery Corporation, Gabriel and Dresden, Sultan, and Bedrock. It reminds me of something more tribal, not sure if this is typical Seaman, but this album is mixed really well. Although it is much different, it is an intricate double cd and is right up there with Cattaneo renaissance. Chab-Sunrise is my favorite track with a pulsating trance beat that knocks anyone of their feet and the second disc ends with a bang on Guy Gerber's Stoppage Time. This could be the best trance/techno album I've bought, and I have a lot of deep dish, digweed in my collection. I listened to it all the way through and I can't usually do that with all trance albums.

Very energetic music! Mainly electro house, but you will find a dash of minimalistic and progressive tracks here and there...

Dave Seamen truley is the 'Master' when it comes to the 'Masters Series' of Rennaisance.

I am a huge Dave Seaman fan because his mixes always have a unique sound. Disc 1 is a little off though, some of the tracks are boring and, for the most part, I am not a fan of vocals. Disc 2, however, is very good, especially tracks 6 and 7. I see it as Disc 1 having about 3.5 stars and Disc 2 having about 4.5 stars for a collective 4 stars.

Hypnotic and pleasing to the senses! Let yourself surrender to the beats of Dave Seaman, the master!

I know the distinctions can be fine and the variations subtle, but as far as I'm concerned there are two primary types of house, electronica, trance, techno, etc. There's the kind designed to engage the body while the mind shuts off, and there's the kind designed to stimulate dreamscapes in lieu of dance-scapes. Generally speaking, the former can be grossly repetitive and gritty, owing to the fact that it is usually played at full blast out of speakers hidden in the corners of a smoky and humid club. The latter is more suited to your car speakers or headphones.

Near the end of a three year love affair with the genre, I started to get sick of the house (techno-industrial-trance-rave-electronica-etc) scene, primarily because of its plodding redundancy and razor-thin digital frequencies. I love to let go and dance, but I don't usually bring my own CDs to the clubs. When I dip into my collection, the milieu has much less strobe to it and far more cushion and candle. So instead of inspiring me to get up and grind, the old standards were starting to grind themselves.

After purchasing a woefully inadequate "Best of House" volume, I checked out Amazon.com to see if anyone else felt as disillusioned by the album as I did. One reviewer dismissed the Best of House series with a single sentence: "this isn't even a fraction as good as the Renaissance series."

So, on that, I took a chance. How grateful I am.

Although both discs in Seaman's exquisitely crafted installment blend elements of the "let's dance" and "let's chill" house/trance attitude, they can almost all be listened to out of small speakers. There are a few rough spots in the album (The Heart's a Lonely Hunter is like a clown in a police line-up -- it's a great song, in its own right, but it does not belong here at all; the Janicki mix of Pure by Hawaii falls prey to old problems -- ill-conceived vocals layered under an internally self-defeating rhythm structure). Every once in a while the songs hit one of those gritty patches where it sounds like you're listening to a record skip and you're wondering why no one is replacing the needle.

These moments are rare and easily forgivable, however, given the rest of the album's frenetic mastery. Seaman has managed to mix and meld the sounds here so that it gets the heart and the mind pumping at the same time. I sometimes wonder whether I should just jump up and move, or give myself time to be introspective and meditative. Unimaginably, I think this album makes it easier to do them both at the same time.

Everyone has a favorite when it comes to sets like this, and although I definitely prefer Disc 1, that's only because, in general terms, it's more mental and soulful, while the second disc has a heavier helping of physically pulsing tendencies. But these are hair-thin distinctions. Both discs glide easily between extremes. From the misty sleep tingles of Lumiere, to the creeptastic Memory Man; from the luminous melancholy of Sunrise, to the happy-hearted road rage rhythms of Connected; it's all good here.

Like I said: I believe in two kinds of House (et. al.) Maybe you're the kind who's up for something to get your blood flowing, or maybe you're the kind who just needs some slightly aggressive ambience to goad reflection and relaxation.

I think you'll both be pleased.

With the release of The Master's Series Pt. 7, expectations of Dave Seaman's style were torn apart like fibers between two pieces of Velcro - the resulting sound, however, is far more pleasant. The blend of styles on this album would be incomprehensible if placed in hands other than those of Dave Seaman; if the term "progressive" were to actually mean something these days, I think most people would label this album as a stunningly successful example.

Opening with the cleverly off-beat percussive layout of Sasha's remix of "Seal Clubbing" the first mix is infused with fuzzy electric background which does not disappear until later in the album; Dave Seaman's mix is almost entirely electro-house oriented and the case for this is strengthened with the presence of cascading layers of brightly-toned synthesizers. Light, bouncy beats keep this startling new sound afloat, but the album quickly becomes buoyant in its own right when Buick Project's "Lumiere" drops - and lands with a bang. This is one of my favorite electro tracks, especially on B.P.'s "Productions and Remixes", and it introduces an entirely new electronic timbre. Sweetly melodic bass grooves, salsa rhythms and cowbell festiveness get the body moving quickly, making the entirety of disc one a pulsating mosaic of avant-garde EDM. The one regrettable exception is Dave's inclusion of "The Heart's a Lonely Hunter", which works beautifully in Thievery Corporation's "The Cosmic Game" but briefly disrupts the ebb and flow of this mix. Tracks seven through twelve establish a surprisingly solid electro-house vista, but the highest point of the first disc comes when Seaman lets loose his own 9+ minute Group Therapy Mix of Gabriel & Dresden's "Tracking Treasure Down". With some of the most cheese-free and beautifully presented lyrics I have heard since Julee Cruise's contributions to Hybrid's "Wide Angle", the prolonged track time is necessary to fully digest all that the track has to offer.

Disc two drops with the decidedly quicker pulse of Paradise Soul's "Spirit of the Turning Tables Part 1" - an indication of good things to come. If you enjoyed Seaman's mix on "Therapy Sessions 2", you will dig this disc. Driving strings slice through the music, sketching the dance landscape before the album even gets going full-steam. The vibrating bass chords on "Randoms" would be enough motivation to get anyone's feet moving, anyway. That vibe rages through "Don't Walk Away" and well past "Sedna"; here, Dave shows off his ability to work with techno-infused trance. "Hype" ups the BPM with excitingly choppy, at times robotic rhythms that blast full-force across the remainder of the album - but it soon becomes clear that this disc is all about the drum and bass. Deep, relentless grooves snatch the listener's ability to remain still. The second mix arguably peaks with Rowan & Jaytech's "Tomorrow" and Bedrock's "Santiago", which both have the elements of perfect club songs that help cap off disc two as noteworthy.

I see this release as the perfect test of the "progressive" house fan who will do one of two things after hearing Dave's mix: Press "repeat" on his stereo to become immersed all over again, or cry out in agony as he grasps for his copy of "Desire". Either way, with beautiful artwork and equally beautiful music the seventh Master's Series release presents majestic self-evidence that Dave Seaman is indeed a master at pioneering club music of the near future. This mix is electric; I have fun watching the sparks fly.

~Lex

I listened to disc 2 first and was impressed. A different kind of sound, something out of the ordinary, however, very few vocals and it lacked that factor that made me really get into it. When I popped in Disc 1, it made up for that missing factor and then some! Probably going to be in my CD player for the next month! Hells yeah!

funny name jokes aside this guy is a legendary artist in my book!! i loved just bout all tracks here!!! highlights to me are 1)Seann Quinn & Andy Page - SQAP (SIKKKKKK) 2)Nufrequency - Buy Me 3)Chab - Sunrise (these two rockers can appreciate)....to be honest i think the two cds are as close to a perfect set to me as it gets!!! if your a fan of this music genre this gem is an absolute MUST-HAVE!! TRUST ME, you will not be disappointed!!!!